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Low-calorie, no laxation bulking system

Low-calorie, no laxation bulking system description/claims

The present application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending, commonly assigned, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/828,915, entitled “No Laxation, Low Flatulence Bulking System,” filed Jul. 26, 2007, which itself claims priority to co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/833,551, entitled “No Laxation Bulking System,” filed Jul. 26, 2006, and is related to co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/828,950, entitled “No Laxation Bulking System,” filed Jul. 26, 2007, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

The present invention relates generally to low-calorie, no laxation bulking systems and more particularly, to a system and method of forming a low-calorie, no laxation bulking system in the form of a soft candy product for human ingestion.

In recent years, controlling sugar, calories, fat and carbohydrates in the human diet has become more of a concern. Many humans desire to control these items to satisfy special dietary needs, i.e., individuals suffering from diabetes or other health problems. Other humans are attempting to eat more healthfully as a preventative measure and/or so as to address weight loss or maintenance concerns.

Regardless what type of dietary needs a person has, typically snack foods are part of such diet. For example, those attempting to lose weight may ingest a number of small meals during the day, some of those meals being snack foods. Similarly, diabetics may require snack foods during the day in order to maintain a proper blood sugar level. Snack foods also may be eaten in order to provide energy or to deliver vitamins to the body. Thus, most humans incorporate snack foods into their diet, but the desire is to have a more healthful snack food. To prevent hunger, there exists a need for a food item to act as a low calorie stomach fill; this food item should be able to be consumed in large quantities to satiate hunger with no resultant weight gain.

Many consider confectionery items, such as candies, to be snack foods. In the past, candies have not been considered to be very healthy. In recent years, however, many confectioners begun developing ways to make more healthful confectionery items, such as sugar-free candies. The confectionery industry has been developed around the properties of one ingredient—sucrose—and thus, when developing sugar-free candies, the desire is to find substitutes for sucrose that most closely mirror the properties, particularly the taste, of sucrose. There also is a need for a sugar-free confectionery snack that is low calorie as sugar-free confections typically are as caloric or only slightly less caloric than sucrose-based confectionery counterparts.

Polyols are often used as substitutes for sucrose in the manufacture of sugar-free confectionery items. Polyols typically used in sugar-free confectionery items include sorbitol, maltitol, lactitol, isomalt and polydextrose. Maltitol, which is produced by hydrogenating maltose in the form of a pure maltose glucose syrup, is believed to most closely resemble the properties of sucrose in that, like sucrose, maltitol is a disaccharide. However, the use of polyols, particularly maltitol, in these sugar-free confectionery items can often be disadvantageous due to the laxative and flatulence-related effects that these polyols produce. The laxative and flatulence-related effects are osmotic in origin given that the unabsorbed material upsets the osmotic balance within the intestinal system, and the consequences can be unpleasant for many who ingest sugar-free confectionery items containing such polyols. Thus, there exists a need for a bulking system, such as in a soft candy product, that is sugar-free and low-calorie while avoiding the laxation and flatulence-related effects typically encountered with food items that incorporate polyols.

Sugar-free confectionery products are typically manufactured in a manner similar to that of sugar-containing confectionery products. In the case of soft candy products, the amount of time needed for the products to set prior to packaging and distribution is significant given that the formulation takes a long time to dry and cool. For example, when a confectionery item containing maltitol syrup is formed, typically it takes at least one to two days before the confectionery item has sufficiently dried and cooled. Thus, there exists a need for a method of forming a bulking system that sets, dries and cools in a shorter period of time. There also exists a need for a method of packaging a bulking system in a manner that maintains the form and quality of the bulking system.

The present invention is directed to a method for producing a low-calorie, no laxation bulking system. A base of water is provided in a mixing kettle or tank. A first set of ingredients comprising erithritol and at least one gum is blended into the water and then heated to a first temperature. A first liquid mixture of modified polydextrose is preferably then added, and the combination is heated to a second temperature. The heat is maintained within a predetermined temperature range, and a second liquid mixture comprised of at least one acid is added to the solution. The resultant solution is then preferably stirred constantly and held in a kettle or mixing tank for panning or molding as desired. Embodiments of the invention further comprise adding food-grade plasticizing agents and/or waxes, hydrogenated starch hydrolysate (HSH), dimethicone, activators, gelatin and/or active ingredients as components of the low-calorie, no laxation bulking system. Other additives also may preferably include flavors, colors, fruit concentrates and/or sucralose or another high intensity sweetener. Preservatives may be incorporated into the bulking system by addition to water prior to introducing the dry-blended mixture into the water.

Another embodiment of the invention is a low-calorie, no laxation bulking system. The bulking system is preferably comprised of water, a dry-blended mixture comprising erithritol and at least one gum, a first liquid mixture of modified polydextrose, and a second liquid mixture comprising at least one acid. The dry-blended mixture is added to water present in the mixing kettle or tank to form a first mix, and the first mix is heated to a predetermined temperature range. The first liquid mixture is added to the first mix and heated. The solution is maintained a predetermined temperature range, and a second liquid mixture is added. The resultant solution is then preferably stirred constantly and held in a kettle or mixing tank for panning or molding as desired.

Further embodiments of the present invention are low-calorie, no laxation soft candy products. The soft candy product preferably is comprised of a dry-blended mixture, wherein the first dry-blended mixture comprises 9 to 50% erithritol and 0 to 5% of at least one gum. A first liquid mixture comprising 0 to 20% modified polydextrose and a second liquid mixture comprising 0 to 5% of at least one acid also form part of the low-calorie, no laxation soft candy product contemplated by the present invention. The dry-blended mixture is added to water to form a first mix, and the first mix is heated to a first temperature. A first liquid mixture is added to the first mix and heated. The heat is maintained in a predetermined temperature range, and the second liquid mixture is added. The resultant solution is then preferably stirred constantly and held in a kettle or mixing tank for panning or molding as desired.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the invention, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present invention.

The desire is to achieve a stable matrix using a bulking agent. This is achieved by using a sugar alcohol, such as erithritol, as well as a modified polydetrose, such as Litesse Ultra liquid, having high fiber content. The finished product includes high levels of erithritol dissolved in water and stabilized by hydrocolloids. The finished product is preferably zero sugar and low calorie providing for no laxation and reduced flatulence properties upon ingestion. A low-calorie, no laxation bulking system, such as a soft candy product, is preferably formed using a dry-blended mixture of erithritol and gums added to water to form a first mix. The first mix is heated to a first temperature, and a first liquid mixture of modified polydextrose is then added to the first mix while continuing to apply heat. The temperature is maintained in a predetermined temperature range, and a second liquid mixture comprised of at least one acid is added to the solution. The resultant solution is then preferably stirred constantly and held in the kettle or mixing tank for panning or molding as desired. The product also may be extruded. The finished product is then plated or molded into sprayed or prepared pans. Cooling occurs, preferably for one to two hours, and then the resulting product is depanned and sanding or other finishing processes may preferably occur.

Pectins are often used for making confectionery items. However, typically they have not been used in conjunction with gummy-like and/or soft candy bulking systems. This is due to the problem that if the pH does not fall within a specific range, the system formed may be unstable and may not set properly. However, in the present invention, a low methoxyl (LM) pectin, such as pectin LM/CP Kelco, is preferably used and is chosen for its ability to work with gellan gums in setting a firm gummy-like candy product. In some embodiments of the present invention, pectin amid AF020 also may be utilized because of its specific ability to work with the other components of the bulking system in setting the bulking system without stickiness being present in the product when it is placed in combination with sugar alcohols or polyols.

Gums, such as gellan gums, are preferably used in forming the bulking system contemplated by the present invention so as to give the resultant gummy-like candy product, for example, its elastic texture. Preferable gellan gums include Kelcogel LT100 gellan gum and gellan gum F as they are texture modifiers and stabilizers, and provide for an elastic gel texture when used in food-related applications. Other gums, including, but not necessarily limited to, carrageenan iota gum, carrageenan, gum Arabic, Xanthan, Karaya, Agar, locust bean/carob bean, carboxy methyl cellulose (CMC), and tragancanth also preferably may be utilized in conjunction with gellan gums.

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

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